The Setting

Chiang Mai is a flood-prone urban area in northern Thailand with around 1 million residents. It’s a cultural center of the region, with hundreds of Buddhist temples and numerous important holidays and festivals. It is also a technology hub, and a destination for Thai and international software developers who want to participate in the rapidly growing digital economy. In 2017 the national government announced major investments aimed at helping Chiang Mai become Thailand’s first “smart city.” Flood risk is increasing due to growing population, unplanned development, and climate change. Major floods are becoming increasingly frequent, limiting the city’s ability to achieve sustainable and equitable development.

Thematic Areas

Participants will organize their projects, workshops, and trainings around several thematic areas, including:

Informating Crisis. On the social life, ethics, and hidden biases of disaster data. What is measured? By whom? How is it analyzed? Communicated?

The Art & Science of Disaster Risk Management. What opportunities exist for cooperation between art & science to communicate flood risk, speed recovery, or imagine new ways of living with water.